Snapshot Liberia: “I now understand my business...”
“As a market woman, I never understood my business. But I now understand my business because I learnt about the importance of saving money.”
“I also did not keep my market [area] clean, but I am now keeping my business clean. As a result, I am finding customers I never [had before]. I never [washed] the fruits that I sold. Because of this, I lost a lot of customers. Nobody wanted to buy from me. I use to think why, but I finally understood the importance of keeping my fruits always clean.”
“Today, I have noticed an increase in the number of persons that buy from me, [with] each day that goes by.”
Sonnie Dorbor is from Buchannan, a city in Grand Bassa County, Liberia. She is one of thousands of Liberian women who have made positive changes in their lives through the United Nations joint programme on Accelerating Progress towards the Economic Empowerment of Rural Women (RWEE). Working together with government and civil society in Liberia, RWEE aims at reaching and empowering women and girls, particularly those most vulnerable and disadvantaged, through a full suite of comprehensive support and training that addresses a range of needs, from agricultural inputs to innovative technologies, and from classes in literacy and numeracy to life skills for leadership, business development and financial management / planning. With respect to finance in particular, RWEE facilitates and supports Savings and Loan Associations (SLAs) for women in both urban and rural areas across the country. SLAs enable women to save money and access loans, thereby increasing their economic and financial independence.